The first time Piper Underwood set foot in her classic red ranch home in Del Mar, California, she cried with happiness. “This house resonated with me deeply—the style, the light, the scenery,” she recalls. Piper was so enamored that she put in an offer before her husband, Chris, had even seen it. Sure, the L-shaped house was on the slender side, but it was otherwise a dream find.
Ten years later, that ranch house started feeling a bit too lean. “As my sons got bigger, the walls seemed narrower,” says Piper. The couple eventually hired San Francisco–based architect Nick Noyes, landscape designer Lisa Chestnut, and interior designer and friend Raili Clasen of Newport Beach, California. To gain some space, Noyes widened the interior by 300 feet, expanding into a former porch and exterior walkway. “The goal was to open up the ranch but retain its good bones and low-key vibe,” says Noyes.
Prop styling: Michael Walters